Brian Ekins

CAD has been a passion of mine ever since I saw a demonstration of an Applicon system while on a field trip in high school in 1977. I started describing designs with pen and paper on a drafting board but have been working with CAD since 1984. I have a CAD focused Bachelor of Science degree in Design Engineering Technology, which is a mixture of mechanical engineering and computer science.

My experience in the industry has been varied, but always customer focused. I started out developing courses and teaching customers how to use Intergraph’s mechanical CAD software. I then transitioned into an Application Engineering role where I provided technical support to the sales organization by conducting tests (benchmarks) of Intergraph’s CAD software for potential customers based on their designs and requirements. Benchmarks involved working with customers to understand their needs and then modeling parts, creating assemblies, performing analyses, producing detailed drawings, and machining parts. I specialized in complex modeling and customization of the software. I also worked on-site at several customers helping them resolve critical issues in their use of the software.

When Intergraph began developing Solid Edge, they asked me to design the programming interface (API). I had been a user of API’s but API design was a completely new role. They asked me because they wanted someone to do it that had a user’s perspective.

In 1998 I moved to Autodesk where I designed the API for Inventor and most recently, I was the designer of the API for Fusion 360. As part of the API design and development roles at both Intergraph and Autodesk, I wrote the documentation and many of the sample programs, taught classes, and supported those using the API’s.

During my time at Autodesk I’ve also been part of the Autodesk Developer Network team that supports customers and developers who are using the API’s to customize the software. I was also part of Autodesk’s consulting group where I wrote custom software for customers and helped them develop their own programs.

Now, I get a chance to put that experience to work helping you improve your CAD system. Contact me so we can talk about your CAD issues and we can work together to find a solution.